


Camaraderie

by LancePuns



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Angst, Best Friends, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friendship/Love, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:14:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23715757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LancePuns/pseuds/LancePuns
Summary: Shido's been defeated. The ship is sinking. And there's only one way to escape with their lives.A shorter piece where Ryuji and Ann have a moment after escaping Shido's Palace. Slight canon alteration. Can be taken in as they love each other platonically or romantically.
Relationships: Sakamoto Ryuji/Takamaki Ann
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	Camaraderie

“Are we...sinking…?” Panther asked, her voice quivering.

The Phantom Thieves had just defeated Shido when the entire ship began to rock. None of them had any idea what was going on, but were trying to escape with their lives. They were currently in a hallway, looking for a way outside when it seemed all their escape routes were gone.

“We are not going to die like this!” Mona yelled, and despite the fact that he was standing not 5 feet in front of Panther, the cat was barely audible. She was growing more and more anxious, as she was sure they all were. 

They continued looking for a way outside and eventually managed to get to the surface, only to see half the boat was already submerged underwater. Explosions going off everywhere, Panther’s ears were ringing.

“We’re all gonna die! I dunno how to swim!” Oracle squealed in terror as the group looked out from one of the openings they found. 

They all began scanning the boat, looking for any way of escape. Panther was struggling to find anything, but Queen was cool and collected as always, managing to find something as she pointed towards the bow of the ship. “Over there! A lifeboat!” 

Everyone’s heads turned to see what Queen was talking about, and immediately Panther saw it. Everyone began running, Skull yelling out “let’s go!” as they made their way towards the lifeboat. Suddenly, however, they all stopped, and Panther’s anxiety grew once more.

There was a large body of water between them and the boat, with the boat hanging from a large slant that was nearly 70 degrees vertically. It was not going to be easy to get to it.

“We’ve just gotta get there...” Skull said.

“It’s too far! We won’t reach it in time…!” Fox responded, looking back at the water that seemed to be coming faster than before.

Panther bit her lip, her mind racing as she tried to think of something, anything, to help them all escape. She was so lost in thought that it hardly registered to her when Skull spoke next.

“I got this.”

It took her a moment to process the words she heard, a small “huh...?” escaping her lips as he began climbing out of the hole they were in. “Hang tight, I’ll nab the boat!” With those words, Skull jumped off the ledge and landed in a position he was used to from track.

“Ryuji!” Panther called out in an attempt to stop him, but his mind was set and he was already prepared. She watched as he began his insane run, jumping over the body of water to get to the side with the lifeboat. He ran up the near-impossible angle, the rest of the group getting to the edge of the water in silence, hoping Skull was able to deploy the lifeboat. Her attention fully on Skull, Panther gulped before calling out once more. “GO!” She knew it wasn’t much help, but she wouldn’t allow herself to just sit here while he tried to save all of them. Eventually, Skull reached the lever and pulled it down, now hanging on it while the boat fell into the water in front of them. Panther cheered “Alright!” and nearly toppled over Mona. 

There wasn’t much boat left to stand on and the rest of them acted fast to pull the boat towards them and start the engine. As she helped the team get on the lifeboat, Panther looked up at Skull, watching as he gave her his trademark smile and thumbs up. Panther couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

“Hang on!” Joker shouted as Fox started the engine and steered it towards Skull.

“We’re moving!” Fox noted seconds later. The whole group looked at Skull as he hung onto the lever, waiting for the boat to get close enough for him to get in.

As they approached, however, Skull was engulfed by flames as explosions blasted from the interior of the ship. Everyone shouted and shielded themselves from the explosion, and as it settled down, Panther looked up for Skull.

She saw only the lever of which he had hung.

The entire ship began to decimate and soon the entire boat combusted from the blasts, presumably from the engine room. Panther and Joker both grabbed the edge of the lifeboat, the former looking out with her mouth agape. “No way...It can’t be…Come on, what the hell, Ryuji…” she stammered as she scanned the water for Skull. She saw nothing but the rocking waves of the ocean and the debris falling from the ship. She shook her head in disbelief and screamed. “RYUJI!”

The next thing they knew, the Phantom Thieves stood outside the Diet Building, all looking down at the ground. Ann gasped as she came to this realization. “We’re back…” She immediately looked around, hoping for any sign of her fellow blond, only to see none at all. “Ryuji!” she called out, the rest of the group looking around.

“He didn’t...make it out…” Haru hesitated as she spoke, almost as if she couldn’t believe it. Ann didn’t blame her; she didn’t believe it either.

Futaba turned to face everyone else. “We’ve gotta go back!” she demanded desperately.

Morgana shook his head, his words heavy. “That’s impossible…”

Yusuke followed suit, laughing weakly in denial. “This isn’t funny at all…”

Ann felt the tears flowing to her eyes, tears she was trying to hold in as she spoke. “He was our fastest runner, too…!” She could feel and hear her voice shaking.

Yusuke knelt down to the ground and grabbed something small from the ground. “So, this is the treasure…” His voice was still solemn.

Makoto spoke in a tired voice, “it’s a legislator’s pin...”

Futaba began to cry, wiping her eyes on her sleeves as she tried to pull herself back together. Soon, Ann joined her, sobbing just as loud, perhaps louder. Everyone else grimaced in pain, mourning their friend and teammate. Behind her, Ann could hear Ren growl in frustration, most likely at himself.

The scene stayed the same way for a few moments before a familiar voice disrupted Ann’s sobs. “Maaaaaan, that was close…” Everyone looked up wide eyed as Ryuji walked over to them, continuing his tangent. “For real though, why do palaces gotta explode so much? Can’t they disappear normally?” It was at this moment he looked at everyone else, who had been staring at him as if they were seeing a ghost. He blinked a couple times before muttering a confused “...what?”

Everyone rushed over to him, still speechless, save for Haru. “Didn’t you...die?” She asked with a confused tone, still wide eyed.

Ryuji joined their wide eyedness, “What?!”, he rubbed the back of his head as he began to explain himself. “I got blasted out from the explosion...When I woke up, I was lyin’ on the grass…” He said as if it was obvious, before blinking and asking “I mean, ain’t I alive?” He turned to face the entire group before smiling at Ann. “What’s this? Your cryin’ face is so not cute,” he said in a teasing manner.

Ann was furious at this and proceeded to smack him across the face. “It’s your damn fault!”

Ryuji rubbed his face as he looked at her, surprised by her response. “What’d I do?”

Haru looked as though she was about to say something, but Ann cut her off. “I thought I lost you! It felt like-” She stopped, hugging Ryuji as she began to cry again.

Ren examined the situation and looked at the rest of the group, nodding behind him. Everyone else read the signal and nodded as he spoke. “We’ll talk to you later.” He turned around and began walking, everyone else following suit, leaving Ryuji and Ann on their own.

Ryuji gently put his arms around Ann. “I’m right here. I ain’t gone.”

Ann continued to cry before she eventually pulled out from Ryuji’s chest and wiped her tears. “I...I thought I lost Shiho earlier this year...and now she’s moved away…”

Ryuji may not have been too bright, but he was smart enough to understand what Ann was saying. Now he felt like a complete douchebag. He had completely forgotten about how much she’d gone through this year. Nearly eight months ago, she was being forced to date a teacher and her best friend tried to commit suicide after being raped by said teacher. Now, here she is, in the past month nearly losing her two new best friends between Ren being arrested and himself nearly blowing up.

He sighed and gently rubbed Ann’s shoulder. “Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you like that. I was just trying to save you, y’know? Ain’t like I knew the whole thing was gonna blow up like it did,” he noted, trying to make her feel better while also putting some perspective on it.

Ann wiped her eyes and nodded slowly. “I just...I can’t lose anyone. Not Shiho, not Ren, and especially not you.” She said as she turned and began to walk.

Ryuji walked alongside her. “Huh? Why ‘especially’ not me? I woulda thought it was ‘especially’ not Shiho or ‘especially’ not Ren.” He looked at her as they continued walking. “I know we’ve known each other for a long while now, but I didn’t think I was that important to you.”

Ann sighed quietly before she stated quietly but bluntly, “because even when you didn’t know me, you stuck up for me. I thought you were just brash and...a dumbass--”

“Hey!”

“--but the more I interacted with you, the more I realized how wrong I was. Well, maybe wrong isn’t right. I was right, but there’s so much more to you than that. I really care about you and the thought of losing you....” She didn’t finish her statement and looked at Ryuji to gauge his reaction to her words. She noted that his mouth was slightly agape and his eyes were wide, but nothing she didn’t expect.

Ryuji took this opportunity to reflect on their relationship and why he’s done what he’s done for her. “Well maybe it has to do with how I grew up, but I ain’t gonna let some scumbags eff’ around with people’s lives. I did what I could to stand against Kamoshida ‘cause he was a piece of shit, and what he was doin’ to you and Shiho is unforgivable.”

Ann nodded, understanding him completely. “Yeah...thank you.”

The two walked in comfortable silence, now understanding each other a bit more than before. They both cared about the other immensely and would do anything for each other. Ryuji, who never had many friends, never mind close friends, and Ann, who had lost so much in the past year. Both of them outcast for one reason or another. Both of them, brought together by Ren and Morgana. The two of them had been friends before, but now, Ann and Ryuji were more than that. They had one another.

And that’s something they wouldn’t trade for the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Fuck that scene where Ryuji gets beat to shit after literally saving their lives, this is what he deserved to get.
> 
> I like to imagine that, since Ryuji is resistant to fire damage once he gets Seiten Taisei, he survived pretty easily because of it.
> 
> These two've been through a lot in the course of high school, and I always thought that, whether they did get romantically involved with each other or not, they still have each other's backs until the end. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! I dunno how much Persona stuff I'll be posting, but I adore the series, so if I get ideas for other things, I might.


End file.
